The Lives of Hittite Women in the Late Bronze Age.

Debbie Turkilsen - student University of New England

January 2014, Sydney.

1
This article provide an in-depth examination and discussion into the lives of Hittite women.

Ever since the Hittite city of Boğazköy was discovered in 1834, Hittite people, their culture,
and society have been a great source of both archaeological and historical interest. Their
kings, known as one of the three Great Kings of the Ancient Near East in the Late Bronze
Age, has fascinated scholars and readers alike. Hittite religion, and recently their magic
rituals, have also recently captivated academic and public interest. However, there has been
no definitive scholarship concerning Hittite women. This essay will provide a perspective on
the role of Hittite women. It will provide an in-depth analysis into the lives of Hittite women
of all classes, beginning with aspects of a Hittite woman’s life from birth, through to
marriage, and death. It will also examine the lives of Hittite royal women and the so-called
Wise Women, who played an important role in the lives of Hittite people. In the process, it
will show that women in Hittite society had an important role to play in many aspects of life.
They could have a career, they had law texts protecting their rights, and the fact that they
were able to carry and bear children was highly respected. However, there were many
downsides to being of the female sex in Hittite society. This is by no means an easy task: to
date, thousands of written records have been discovered and translated. However, no
known private records exist. Neither any family documents have been discovered, nor any
marriage contracts. However, by careful analysis of the Hittite laws, Royal Annals and
treaties, as well as diplomatic correspondence, ritual, divination, and religious texts, it is
possible to gain a glimpse of the lives of Hittite women.1 By the end of this essay, an
understanding of what the life of a Hittite woman entailed will provide the reader with a
widespread understanding of their place in society.

The term used to signify Hittite women in the Land of Hatti was MUNUS. A girl was
identified as DUMU.MUNUS. A baby girl was termed DUMU.MUNUS.GABA, an old woman
as MUNUS.SU.GI, and the female slave was identified as GEME.2 The female symbols were

1
Roth, M. T., Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, Atlanta, 1997, pp. 215-216: The
Hittite Law texts are actually a combination of judgement guidelines concerning forbidden acts
stemming from judicial decisions, and are not like our modern day law code system.
2
Wilhelm, G., ‘Demographic Data from Hittite Land Tablets’, University of Wurzburg, 2009, p.227.

2
the spindle and the distaff. Incantations provide evidence that the birth of a female child
was as highly valued in Hittite society as the birth of a male child. These incantations were
recited right after the birth, when they chanted “…give her the goods of a female child and
let a male be born a year forth…” If a male child had been born, this incantation was recited
in the reverse.3 As the act of procreation was deemed very important in Hittite society it is
easy to understand why female births were highly welcomed. Demographic evidence
indicates that both infant and child mortality rates were as high as 50%.4 There is evidence
from King Mursili II’s Plague Prayers which show that the Hittite population suffered
considerably for nearly 20 years, with a large portion of the people being decimated with
disease. This was not the only known case of plague in the Land of Hatti.5 In times of crisis
like these, the stress would have been laid upon Hittite women to reproduce.

Hittite law texts clearly stated that a woman was to be compensated if someone caused her
to miscarry. Law text 17 declares that during the time of the New Empire (c.1500BC) a free
woman was to be compensated with 20 shekels of silver. What is most surprising is that Law
text 18 stipulated that a female slave was to be compensated 10 shekels of silver if an
incident occurred which caused her to experience a miscarriage.6 This provides evidence
that Hittite society placed a vast significance on the breeding, as well as capturing, of slaves.

Women dressed in a chaste fashion when they ventured outside of their home. They wore a
long cloak which covered them from head to toe. When inside the home, they generally
wore a lighter garment fastened with ornamental bronze pins. Both sexes wore jewellery,
with women wearing earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets. Many also wore amulets that
were fashioned as sun-discs, lunar shapes, and divine figures.7 The purpose of their use
would have been ritualistic or protective in function. Hittite society had a strong belief in

3
London, J., ‘Hittite Birth Rituals’, in Images of Women in Antiquity, Detroit, 1983, p. 132.
4
Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 230.
5
Mineck, K., van den Hout, T., & Hoffner, H., ‘Hittite Historical Texts II’, in The Ancient Near East:
Historical Sources in Translation, Victoria, 2006, pp.259-266.
6
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 219.
7
Macqueen, J. G., The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor, London, 1986, pp. 100-101.

3
matters of sorcery and witchcraft.8 Some women also wore headwear known as the
kuressar.9

Law text 182 provides evidence that fine garments were also used on occasion, and that
blue coloured garments were highly prized and deemed a luxury.10 Epigraphic evidence
depicts the presiding Tawananna dressed in special ceremonial attire when she fulfilled her
duty as High-Priestess. This showed her in a long-pleated skirt, with a high polos hat and a
broad-style belt. (Figure 1). This is important, for it suggests that at religious ceremonies she
was the human representation of the goddess.

Despite women being able to hold such a high religious position, Hittite society was
patriarchal in nature. The senior male of the family possessed absolute authority over all
family members, especially their wives, daughters, daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren.11
According to Harry A. Hoffner Jnr., it appeared a female was deemed ready for marriage
when she attained puberty.12 Demographic evidence supports this theory. Tablet Bo 90/732
demonstrates that in a list of 17 different households, the number of old women who were
still alive outnumbered the number of old men.13Of course, it is possible that many of these
men were killed in warfare. However, one can hypothesise that many of these women may
have been significantly younger than their husbands upon marriage. They would have
naturally outlived their husbands if this was so.

8
Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 224, 230.
9
The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, (eds.) Guterbock, H, H.
Hoffner, & T. van den Hout, accessed at http://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/eCHD/, on 03.12.13,
unpageinated.
10
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 235
11
Beckman, G., ‘International Law in the Second Millennium: Late Bronze Age’, in A History of
Ancient Near Eastern Law, Vol. 1, Leiden & Boston, Brill Publishing, 2003, p. 775.
12
Hoffner, H. A., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, in Life and Culture in the Ancient Near East,
Bethseda, 2003, p. 113.
13
Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 231.

4
Hittite society recognised many different types of marriage. Law texts 27 and 31 provide
evidence that both arranged and de-facto marriages were recognised as valid.14As Trevor
Bryce states, this is quite a liberal and pragmatic approach.15 When it came to arranged
marriages, there were three explicit stages which required fulfilment. Law text 28 shows
that the first phase of marriage negotiations began with a promise which may have occurred
quite early in the girl’s life.16 Law text 29 discusses the formal betrothal.17 This involved the
payment of a bride price, or kusata, to the girl’s family.18The final requirement of marriage
negotiations came after the marriage had been consummated. This involved the payment of
a dowry.19

All the evidence suggests that marriage was an important cultural rite in Hittite society. The
discovery of a Hittite vase at Inandik portrays depictions of a wedding ceremony.20 Upon
careful examination of these depictions, it can be discerned that weddings were both a
joyful and public affair. (Figure 2). It may to be stated that the depiction on the vase could
only be symbolic of a royal or aristocratic wedding. The wedding of the poorer class citizen
may have had more of a focus on the expansion of familial prospects. It may have been a
more humble affair.

The fact that law texts existed in the Hittite society which stipulated certain compensations
were to be paid to either the intended husband, or to the bride’s family, in the event of
something causing a breakdown in marriage negotiations, almost surely suggests that both
the bride price and the dowry were quite sizeable.21 According to Bryce, the bride’s dowry

14
Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 220-221.
15
Bryce, T., Life and Society in the Hittite World, Oxford & New York, 2002, p. 119.
16
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.
17
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.
18
Bryce, T., 2002, pp. 199-200.
19
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.
20
The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, accessed at
http://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/eCHD/, on 03.12.13, unpageinated.
21
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221: Law 28a stipulated that if a daughter had been promised to a man and
elopes with another, then compensation from the eloper must be paid to the man who had been
promised her hand. Law 28b stipulated that if parents decided to give their daughter to another man
they must pay the compensation to the wronged man. Law 29 stipulated that if a daughter was

5
would have equated to be the representation of her share of the familial estate, or
inheritance.22Law text 27 protected her right to this property, as the husband only gained
possession in the event she predeceased him.23

Law text 27 also declared that a husband ‘takes’ his wife and ‘leads her away’ to his house.24
According to Gurney, this signified that she was considered to be nothing more than a
husband’s possession.25However, if one carefully analyses the Hittite collection of Law texts,
this is an inaccurate assessment. Law text 28b clearly indicated that a wife could play an
equal role alongside her husband in her daughter’s marriage negotiations. Law text 171
gave the wife the power to disown her son if she so chose. Whereas Law text 26a clearly
stated that a woman had just as much right to instigate a divorce as the husband did.26

Furthermore to this, according to Bryce, provisions were also made to ensure the economic
security of widows upon their husband’s death.27 This definitively proves that women were
not just seen as their husband’s possession to do with as he pleased. However, with the fact
that most marriages appeared to have been arranged, it tends to suggest that the female
may not have had any choice when it came to selecting who would become her husband.

The Hittite Law text 27 stated that, in certain circumstances, upon marriage daughters did
not have to leave their family home. It declared that the daughter had the option to either
leave her ancestral home with her new husband to set up her own house, or to choose to
remain in the home of her parents.28This second option would most likely have been
encouraged if the daughter’s family had no sons to pass on an inheritance too, effectively

betrothed to a man and he had paid the bride price for her, but her parents decided to contest the
agreement, then they must pay him back double the amount.
22
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 120.
23
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.
24
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 220.
25
Gurney, O., The Hittites, Victoria, 1969, p. 100.
26
Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 220, 221, 234.
27
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 119.
28
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.

6
becoming an antiyant marriage. If the woman died in the home she had established with
her husband, he inherited her dowry as mentioned above. This implies that upon marriage,
if the bride did choose to set up home with her new husband, she may no longer have
effectively been a member of her birth family, therefore becoming one with her new clan.29
If she died in her parent’s house and the couple had brought forth children, then her dowry
was kept in reserve for their future.30

Evidence from royal archives suggests royal daughters were seen as no more than
diplomatic tools when it came to their marriages. Hittite society was based upon the
concept of the clan. Hittite daughters had to be subordinate to the fate that the king had
designated for them. The daughter of Hattusili I and Queen Puduhepa was used to seal the
treaty with Egypt after the Battle of Kadesh, where she became the Bride of Ramses II.31For
this reason alone, one would expect that royal daughters were to be both highly obedient
and beautiful.

Law text 32 stated that a free born woman was authorized to marry a male slave. If the
slave paid a bride price to marry her then she retained her free born status. This allowed for
the said slave to gain some leverage in society. If divorce occurred, all possessions were split
equally. The woman would have gained custody of all but one child.32 Law 36 stipulated that
if the male slave could not pay a bride price for the woman, then she became a slave herself
for three years.33 It is not known how many times a marriage under these circumstances
occurred. However, there was opportunity for a slave in Hittite society to become affluent.
According to Bryce, they could acquire land through tenant farming, and by working it
productively accumulate wealth.34

29
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.
30
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.
31
Ceram, C. W., The Secrets of the Hittites: The Discovery of an Ancient Empire, London, 2001, p. 193.
32
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 221.
33
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 222.
34
Bryce, 2002, pp.122-123.

7
Levirate marriages took place in Hittite society. Law text 193 stated “If a man has a wife,
and the man dies, his brother shall take his widow as wife. (If the brother dies) the father
shall take her. After the father dies his brother shall take her”.35 This strengthens the
premise that society was patriarchal in nature. However, a woman could not have sexual
relations with her brother-in-laws, or other male members of her husband’s family, while
her husband was still alive. Specific laws firmly stated that this was deemed to be
incest.36Illegal sexual coupling was known as hurkel. 37 It was extremely important that
morality was practiced within a woman’s marriage. Her sin could bring down the anger of
the gods upon her entire familial clan if she failed to do so.38

Law text 26b stipulated that the husband was able to sell his wife to another man for 12
shekels of silver upon divorce.39As disturbing as that sounds, when all the other law texts
that discussed divorce are considered, this may only have eventuated if another male was
interested in the woman for himself. Demographic evidence does definitively show that
Land Donations from the Royal Household were given to single women on occasion.40 This
evidence seems to indicate that the female was able to give her agreement on whether she
wanted to be sold to another man.

Hittite marriages were mainly monogamous in practice. It was only the very wealthy
households, and of course the royal males, who partook in polygamous marriages.41 In the
case of royal males, both secondary wives and a harem filled with concubines were
considered a necessary requirement. The King would have desired to have as many
daughters as possible, to be used as diplomatic tools with rulers of other foreign states, as
well as rulers of vassal kingdoms. Male children were essential to represent the king in

35
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 236.
36
Beckman, G., Hittite Diplomatic Texts, Georgia, 1996, p. 27.
37
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 50.
38
Blasweiler, J., The Royal Family of the Early Old Kingdom of Hattusa and Their Tawanannas:
Cultural History of Anatolia 1700-1600BC, Arnhem, 2013, p. 15.
39
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 220.
40
Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 232.
41
Hoffner, H., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, 2003, p. 106.

8
important military, diplomatic, or bureaucratic positions.42 It is likely that becoming either a
secondary wife or concubine of the king was viewed as quite a prestigious position in
society. These women would have been looked after very well.

The wedding ceremony involved the act of ‘unveiling’ the wife.43 Art work depicted on the
Inandik vase demonstrates the act of unveiling occurred on the marriage bed, just before
the couple consummated their marriage. (Figure 3). No other Hittite art has been discovered
which shows that a woman being veiled was an everyday occurrence. This tends to suggest
that the veiling was either sacred or ritualistic in meaning. Myths reveal the importance of
engaging in sexual intercourse for procreation. The mythical cycle concerning the
Disappearing Gods lamented the barrenness of animals, nature, and humankind, within
their themes.44

According to Hoffner, the Hittites viewed their ability to perform the sex act as an essential
aspect to their identity, both male and female.45The story of Appu and His Two Sons
highlighted the feelings of emasculation if no children were conceived, focussing the
reasoning for this upon the male.46 This is quite a refreshing attitude for the Bronze Age era.
If all else failed, the married couple could hire the services of a Wise Women to perform a
Fertility Ritual.47 Evidence from the Royal Archives discovered at Bogazkoy give details of a
ritual belonging to a Wise Woman known as Paskuwatti. This entailed a potency incantation
that assisted men and women who had been unable to conceive with reproductive power
and desire.48

42
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 28.
43
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 279.
44
Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, Atlanta, 1998, p. 21.
45
The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, accessed at
http://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/uCHD/, on 03.12.13, unpageinated.
46
Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 82-84.
47
Gurney, O., 1969, p. 162.
48
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, Weisbaden, 1983, p. 18.

9
Another myth of significance is the story of The Hunter Kessi and His Beautiful Wife. The
theme involved a man who became obsessed with his wife, thereby causing him to neglect
his societal obligations and worship of the gods.49 A wife was not to monopolise her
husband’s time. This myth appeared to be the only piece of evidence which stated that
mothers were to be respected, as Kessi neglected her too. Parables existed which
highlighted the son’s duty to his father, and the position of dominance the father
possessed.50 However, there was no Parable or guideline which stipulated the importance of
a mother to her children.

Only one artistic depiction has been discovered which demonstrated Hittite sexual activity.
(Figure 4). As stated above, the theme of the Inandik Vase is a wedding, which then
culminated after the act of unveiling into the consummation of the marriage. According to
Bryce, Hittite mythology is lacking in the concept of romance.51 However, the act of sexual
union is an important element in myths such as the Iluyanka Myth version one, and the
Song of Ullikummi.52 Hittite myths such as The Song of Birth, The Song of Hedammu, and The
Song of Keshshi all indicated that womankind were revered for the power they possessed to
conceive and bear children.53

The story of Appu and His Two Sons outlined the concept that Hittite people followed and
believed in when it came to conception and birth. This began with a declaration of having
conceived, and then the counting down of the months of gestation until birth. This was
calculated correctly at 10 months. Labour then ensued, and upon delivery it appeared the
father would agree to hold his child. The baby was then given a name.54It is not known if the
reasoning behind the father agreeing to hold the child was for reasons of acceptance or
denial of whether the child was his.

49
Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 87-89.
50
Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 70-72.
51
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 125.
52
Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp.11-12, 56-60.
53
Backvarova, M., ‘Hurro-Hittite Stories and Hittite Pregnancy and Birth Rituals’, in Women in the
Ancient Near East: A Sourcebook, London & New York, 2014, p. 272.
54
Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 82-84.

10
A large number of Birth Rituals have been discovered which highlighted the importance of
procreation. These were all recorded from the perspective of the practitioner.55In cases of
Royal births, and those of families who were well off financially, there would be two types of
professionals to assist the birthing mother. The first was known as the Hasnupallas. This
translated as ‘the woman who knows the internal organs’. It was her job to chant
incantations and perform rituals to keep evil away from the child as it was being born. This
woman was also the one who recited the blessing of welcome to the child after birth, and
sent a prayer for another child to be born a year henceforth.56 Manuals that originated from
Babylon have been found in Royal Households which catalogued the omens which occurred
while the royal woman was giving birth.57

The other practitioner who assisted the mother was known as the Hasawas. This translated
as ‘the one of the birth-giving’. Scholars such as Bryce and Joost Blasweiler have identified
her as the Wise Woman.58However, she could also signify a family midwife who was
experienced through her own acts of birth giving, or a wet nurse, as well as one who
specialised in magico-medical techniques.59 It is known that Queen Puduhepa declared
herself to be a Hasawas. In her prayers and royal correspondence she often spoke of her
skills in both the acts of birthing and raising many children.60 The Hasawas woman prepared
the utensils that were used in a woman’s labour.61 However, poorer households would have
only had the services of a Hasawas.62

Hittite society believed a number of guidelines had to be complied with while a woman was
pregnant, the first being upon conception. A festival or celebratory offering to the Mother-

55
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 2.
56
London, J., 1983, p. 132.
57
Hoffner, H., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, 2003, p. 112.
58
Bryce, T., 2002, pp. 201-202; Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 41.
59
London, J., 1983, p. 133.
60
Singer, H., Hittite Prayers, Georgia, 2002, p. 101.
61
London, J., 1983, p. 133.
62
Hoffner, H., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, 2003, p. 112.

11
goddess was to be performed.63 There is no known record of what this offering entailed.
One Birth Ritual, KBo XVII 65, stipulated a cleansing ritual had to be performed on the
expectant mother. Once the seventh month of gestation was reached, all sexual relations
between husband and wife had to cease. The mala-offering was then performed, followed
by the uzi and the zurgi offerings. There is no clear indication of what these offerings
entailed either. According to Beckman they assisted the expectant mother in attaining
purity of some sort.64

When pregnancy had reached seven months and one day, a seer performed a cleansing
ritual in the mouth of the mother. The purification of the mouth was seen to equate a
symbolic purification of the vagina.65This involved the use of cedar and tamarisk woods, and
an unknown component of harnai. The seer also recited a Hurrian chant.66 It is interesting
that many of the Hittite ritual texts were recited in other languages than the Hittite tongue.
As Hittite society absorbed many different cultures and beliefs into their own when they
conquered other cities and states, there were at least eight different languages represented
in the Royal Archives of the Hittite capital Hattusa.67

KBo XVII 65 goes on to stipulate that certain foods were disallowed. These were ground up
cress, and another item of food known as astauwar. The husband and wife were no longer
permitted to eat at the same table when they dined together.68 A patili priest was then
summoned to perform a special purification ritual of the room where the Hittite woman was
to give birth. For most women this was the bedroom. This priest was an expert in both birth
and death rituals. To ensure a successful pregnancy and delivery, pegs and binding were
used to close the birth chamber, and then re-open it. While doing this, he led the mother in
and out of the room. This process of binding, sealing, and closing was representative of the

63
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 143.
64
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, pp. 133-147.
65
Bachvarova, M., 2014, p. 292.
66
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, pp. 133-147.
67
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 5.
68
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, pp. 133-147.

12
binding, sealing, and closing of the womb, which was only to be opened when labour
occurred.69

The ritual performed by the patili priest contained a magical element to it. Red wool was
believed to be symbolic of menstrual blood. Hittite practitioners thought this to be the
source of nourishment for the foetus. For a royal couple, red and white wool was
intertwined into a special belt. Both the king and queen wore this to promote fertility. The
likelihood is that other aristocratic families with the financial means would have had the
resources to partake in this same magical ritual. The poorer Hittite woman had a bundle
created from cedar, tamarisk, and olive wood, which was then tied together with red wool.
This bundle was then placed inside her girdle. Hittite women thought this to be especially
significant, as the girdle had be untied when giving birth, like the symbolic opening of the
womb.70 The woman was not allowed to leave the house after the purification of the birth
chamber had been performed.71

Details of what occurred during labour have survived within the Birth Rituals as well. The
Incantation of Crying Out was to be chanted as the woman screamed through the pain of
her labour.72 This is significant as it provides evidence that symbolic silence was not believed
an essential requirement when giving birth. A bronze knife and 4 bronze pegs essential
implements. These were provided by the Hasawas woman to cut the umbilical cord.73

Two stools and three cushions, or two footstools, were required. One stool and one cushion
was each used for the birthing mother and midwife. The delivered baby fell into a receiving
blanket. If any of this equipment happened to break during labour, it was deemed a bad

69
Bachvarova, M., 2014, p. 292.
70
Bachvarova, M., 2014, p. 292.
71
London, J., 1983, p. 138.
72
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 33.
73
London, J., 1983, p. 133.

13
omen.74An outing ceremony for a boy child was performed at 3 months, while a girl had her
ceremony at 4 months.75

Evidence from surviving royal correspondence show that Hittite practitioners did not have
an understanding of female menopause. The letter, written by King Hattusili III to Ramses II,
asked for special doctors to concoct medicine for his sister Massanauzzi to enable her to
conceive a child. She had been identified as being past her child-bearing age when this was
written. There was no understanding by the Hittites as to why the medicine would not be
able to help.76

Depending on the extenuating circumstances, Hittite society was strict on its condemnation
of female adultery. Law text 198 of the Hittite Legal corpus stated that if a wife committed
adultery, the husband had to right to kill her and the male she copulated with. The husband
could also choose to save her life. However, if he did choose that option, he could not do
harm to the offending male.77 If the husband took too long in making a formal decision on
whether to punish or forgive, the case then became the property of the King’s Court. This
almost always ended in capital punishment for both the adulterer and adulteress, unless the
husband clearly announced in the presence of the King he wished to ta.SAG.DU-ZU wa-as-si-
e-iz-zi. This is translated as ‘and the husband may cover her head’. This act entailed the
same veiling and unveiling of the wife’s head that was symbolically performed on their
wedding day.78 The woman ideologically became her husband’s new bride.

The Hittite Law text 197 dealt with the issue of female rape. It stipulated that if a woman
was raped in the mountains, it was the fault of the attacker and he became an outlaw.

74
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 250.
75
Beckman, G., Hittite Birth Rituals, 1983, p. 147.
76
Bryce, T., Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East: The Royal Correspondence of the Late
Bronze Age, London & New York, 2003, p. 113.
77
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 237.
78
Tsevat, M., ‘The Husband Veils a Wife (Hittite Laws, Sections 197-198)’, in The Journal of Cuneiform
Studies, Vol. 27, No. 4, 1975, p. 275.

14
However, if the rape occurred in the home of the victim, the fault was then laid upon
her.79This suggests that a woman was either never left in her home alone, or that
submission in an attack was not tolerated, even if it was a matter of life or death. In the time
period classified as the New Kingdom women who did choose to live a single life could be
given a male slave through royal channels. A prayer recited by Queen Puduhepa to the
goddess Lelwani when King Hattusili III was intensely ill discussed the allocation of a
Prisoner of War to the home of each single woman to assist them with heavier tasks.80

A woman was able to gain employment and become a contributing citizen to Hittite society.
Evidence discovered from Temple Inventories, ritual texts, and Hittite art indicate that
females were employed as weavers, millers, cooks, and fullers.81They were employed as
musicians, dancers, and singers. (Figure 2). Linear B Tablets signify that the reputation of
Hittite women for their work with textiles, fabrics, and needlework was highly valued. The
Aa sequence of tablets, discovered at Pylos, show that they were exclusively placed in
occupations of pe-ki-ti-ra (this is called carding the wool), ri-ne-ja (linen or flax workers), i-
te-ja (weaving and spinning fibres), and finally ra-pi-ti-ra (women responsible for
sewing).82For their craft to have been so extensively recognised in the Late Bronze Age,
females may have begun training in their childhood.

Hittite Law texts 150 and 158b stipulated that a woman could be employed in labour tasks.
For her services the wage rate was to be half a shekel of silver a month. When it came to the
harvest season, her wages equated to 600 litres of barley earned for 3 months of work.83
This suggests that, in certain situations at least, a woman was deemed to be just as capable
as men for certain duties. In harvest season there was a necessity to make sure all the
labour had been completed before the onset of the harsh winters. Communal incentive
would have placed stress on the concept of every person doing their share, whether it was

79
Roth, M. T., 1997, p. 237.
80
Wilhelm, G., 2009, p. 224.
81
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 81.
82
Ergin, G., ‘Anatolian Women in Linear B Texts: A General Review of the Evidence’, in Vita:
Festschrift in Honour of Belkis Dincol and Ali Dincol, Istanbul, 2007, p. 271.
83
Roth, M. T., 1997, pp. 222-223.

15
deemed hard labour or not. It is evident from military rituals that women had no place on
the battlefield. Lower-order officers on initiation into the military ranks had to swear an
oath upon the Hittite feminine symbols, while they swore to uphold the virtues of loyalty
and bravery.84

There is evidence which shows that a periodic census was performed on Temples by the
King. These indicate that every temple possessed female staff.85 Some women were
employed to prepare bread and food for the temple god, as well as to tend to the god’s
needs. These needs involved the waking of the god each morning, and the cleansing and
dressing of them in clean clothes before the god was given their daily sustenance. These
women had to be ritually pure in their body. Fingernails had to be short and clean, and hair
had to be pulled away from the face. Cleaning staff were to ensure the temple itself,
including the kitchen where the food was cooked, had been swept and was tidy.86When it
came to the personal ritual and religious ceremonies, no evidence can be discerned which
shows any segregation of the sexes occurred when in the act of worship. The size of some of
these temples, such as the Storm-God’s, were massive. (Figure 5). They would have required
an immense staff.

Certain women were selected to become priestesses, with different cults having different
requirements. Priestesses who were identified as MUNUS.MES, or Suppissares, had to take
an oath of virginity.87 Priestesses who were known as entanni women have been recorded
in Tablet Bo 4952, which stipulated they had to take a vow of poverty. The woman appears
to have been identified as either the daughter-in-law or bride of the cult god she attended.
These women forewent their inheritance and became dependent on the cult temple for
their daily needs. According to Hoffner, they were similar to the entu priestess identified in

84
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 113.
85
Hoffner, H., ‘Hittite Religion’, in The Gale Encyclopedia of Religion, London & New York, 2005, p.
505.
86
Sturtevant, E. H., & Bechtel, G., A Hittite Chrestomathy, Philadelphia, 1935, p. 150.
87
The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, accessed at
http://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/eCHD/, on 03.12.13, unpageinated.

16
Mesopotamian religious culture, who also became the bride to their god.88 They could also
be likened to modern day nuns who voluntarily take a vow of poverty and become a bride of
Christ.

A small fragment of a ritual text, KUB XXXII 83, discussed the presence of Zintuhi priestesses.
They were involved in a ritual dedication recited in the Hittite tongue and performed for the
goddess Tetesapi. A NIN.DINGIR priestess also played an important role in this ceremony.
They would perform this ritual in Hittite before the presence of the King, in the temple of
the Sun-god.89 It is not known if the Zintuhi priestesses had to take a vow of poverty or if
they had to remain virgins.

The NIN.DINGIR translated into either ‘the sister’ or ‘the Lady of the Deity’. She appeared to
have been highly elevated within the assemblage of the Hittite religious cultic priestesses.
There was only one who held the position at any one time. She played a role in many
different religious rituals and ceremonies, not only the worship of the goddess Teteshapi.
The NIN.DINGIR priestess also played an important role in the KI.LAM festival either
alongside the king, royal couple, and/or the royal princes.90The KI.LAM festival translates as
meaning the ‘gate’ festival and was celebrated in autumn.91 One can assume this had
something to do with ensuring the gods’ protection and sustenance throughout the winter.

The name of the NIN.DINGIR so far has been discovered 51 times on ritual texts. Tablet KUB
59.2.ii.6-7 recorded a portion of her cultic activity. “…she goes to the temple of Katahha,
where she spins the spindle that represents long years, to gain a long life for the king…” She
was transported when ceremony in the royal carriage, the huluganni, wore the deity’s

88
Hoffner, H., ‘The Institutional Poverty of the Hurrian Diviners and Entanni Women’, in Pax
Hethitica: Studies on the Hittites and Their Neighbours in Honour of Itamar Singer, Wiesbaden, 2010,
pp. 216, 219, 222, 223.
89
Bin-Nun, S., The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, Heidelberg, 1975, p. 35.
90
Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 44.
91
Bryce, T. 2002, p. 194

17
vestment, and was led in the procession by a sceptre-bearer.92Considering that it was only
the royal queen and king who were allowed to wear the deity’s vestments in ritual
ceremonies, and also the fact that she was entitled to use the royal carriage and sceptre,
she must have been a member of the royal family herself. It is not known if the princess
chosen to fulfil the duty of a NIN.DINGAR priestess of the state cults was able to marry.

The most important priestess in Hittite religious belief was the Chief Siwanzanni priestess.
This position was held by the reigning queen Tawananna. In the Old Kingdom (c.1700-
1500BC) she was known in Hattic as the SANGA. Priestess. In the New Kingdom (c.1500-
1150BC) she was identified as the AMA-DINGAR priestess. This translated as ‘Mother of the
Deity’.93 Each temple had a Siwanzanni priestess in attendance.94 Evidence suggests that
each of these priestesses fulfilled their duties for the sake of the Tawananna in every
temple in Hittite territory, and that they would have been just as dedicated to her as they
were to the goddess.95

Evidence provided by the prayers of King Mursili II indicate what her religious duties
entailed. She not only held the highest religious priestess position in the Hittite kingdom,
she also possessed immense wealth. All the votive offerings, statues, religious taxes, and
donations offered to the Sun-goddess of Arinna were seen as the Tawananna’s to delegate
or use as she wished. This also included temple lands that had been dedicated to the
goddess.96 In the Old Kingdom, evidence indicates that she also had the religious duty of
attending to the hearth fire. The fire of the hearth was directly connected with the religion

92
Blasweiler, J., 2013, p.45, 55.
93
Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 44.
94
Hoffner, H., ‘A Prayer of Mursili II about His Stepmother’, in The Journal of the American Oriental
Society, Vol. 103, No. 1, 1983, p. 191.
95
Blasweiler, J., 2013, p.44.
96
Hoffner, H., ‘A Prayer of Mursili II about His Stepmother’, 1983, pp. 187-189.

18
of common life and the house cult.97This ensured a city’s safety from the danger of evil
forces.98

Epigraphic evidence provides proof that her role in cultic state ceremony was at times as
equally as important as the king’s. (Figure 6). Ritual texts have recorded certain ceremonial
procedures involving the pair. “The king and queen put on their ritual dress in the hal-e-nt-u-
w-a house (palace)…then the king and queen come forth from the hal-e-nt-u-w-a house” The
king and Tawananna then washed to attain ritual purity and entered the temple.99 It was
also believed that the Tawananna was able to receive omens from the gods.100According to
Bryce more is known of particular Hittite queens than their royal husbands.101

Their official title of Tawananna derives from the Hattian root tafa/tawa. This signified ‘to
have honour, authority, power’.102However, this position was not exclusively held by the
king’s wife. The reigning Tawananna held her position even if her husband had predeceased
her, meaning that at times it was the new king’s mother or step-mother who possessed this
role. In this circumstance, the new king’s wife would have to wait and inherit the position of
Tawananna after her death.103

Evidence of royal factions regarding a reigning Tawananna and the king’s wife have been
recorded numerous times in the Royal Annals. Evidence indicates that Queen Danuhepa had
been involved in a coup as she attempted to have her son succeed to the throne. Being
married to King Muwatalli II, she was allegedly supported by many palace officials and

97
Hutter, M., ‘Religion in Hittite Anatolia Some Comments on “Volkert Haas: Geschichte der
Hethitischen Religion”, in Numen, Vol. 44, 1997, pp. 83-84.
98
Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p. 108.
99
Bittel, Kurt, ‘The Great Temple at Hattusha-Boğazköy’, in American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 30,
No. 1, 1976, p. 70.
100
Collins, B. J., The Hittites and Their World, accessed at
http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_KOmaQgkkUn&sig=aVpwJyxcQsiWvchM7c_12tal
fik&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Billie%20Jean%20Collins%22, on 12.01.14, unpageinated.
101
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 13.
102
Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 29.
103
Gurney, O., 1969, pp. 66-67.

19
nobles. She was banished under the suspicion of witchcraft. After a number of years
Danuhepa was allowed to return, which signified the enormous amount of power she still
wielded in the Royal Court.104Another Tawananna involved in court faction was King
Suppiluliuma I’s Babylonian wife. Her reported knowledge of Black Magic allegedly killed
Mursili II’s wife.105Queen Puduhepa was also targeted by her daughter-in-law, who did not
like the amount of influence and power she still possessed in the Royal Court and State,
wanting it for her own.106Hittite Queens were not only beautiful consorts sitting at the side
of the king. They had ambition which ran through their veins.

The first known Tawananna was the aunt of King Hattusili I. Hattusili had decided to adopt
his sister’s son as his future heir. However, it appeared both her and his aunt tried to use his
nephew as a vehicle to initiate their own political policies. Hattusili cast his aunt out and
labelled her a snake.107This woman would have wielded enormous influence and power. Not
only was the Tawananna chief priestess in the kingdom, she also partook in political and
judicial activities. Evidence has been recorded of Queen Puduhepa as she officiated over a
trial. The case involved a damaged boat in Ugarit. She even passed down judgement by
using the king’s royal title of ‘My Sun’.108

Queen Asmunikal, who was married to King Tudaliya I, introduced a ruling that all those
involved in the building of her deceased husband’s Mausoleum (c.1400BC) were exempt
from paying taxes for the rest of their lives.109 It appeared certain tax-collectors, at some
stage, attempted to overturn her decision. She is alleged to have stated ‘A dog barks but

104
Cammarosano, M., ‘Tanuhepa: A Hittite Queen in Troubled Times’, accessed at
http://www.academia.edu/496653/Tanu_epa_a_Hittite_Queen_in_Troubled_Times, on 02.12.13, p.
48.
105
Hoffner, H., ‘A Prayer of Mursili II about his Stepmother’, 1983, pp. 187-192.
106
Bryce, T, 2002, p. 27.
107
Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p. 108.
108
Bryce, T., 2002, p. 44.
109
Hasse, R., ‘The Hittite Kingdom’, in A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law Vol. 1, Leiden & Boston,
2003, pp. 639.

20
when he arrives, he is silent”.110 Hittite queens were also provided with their own seals to be
used on official decrees, royal correspondence, and at times foreign treaties. (Figure 7).
They resided in their own quarters within the palace.111

Royal Archives have recorded when royal women took the opportunity to assert their
power. The enormous number of military campaigns undertaken by the Hittite kings would
have been one cause of enabling opportune moments to have appeared. In each of these
circumstances, the Queen sat as proxy on the Royal Throne.112 This allowed her the time to
incite the palace staff, nobility and public. Hattusili I’s daughter was the cause of the loss of
many lives through the instigation of a massive Civil War. HAB II 14 recorded, “Then [she
made] Hattusa and the cou[rt disloyal and the nobles] and my palace officials became
enemies [to me]”.113

Death was no different for either Hittite male or female. The myth, The Voyage of the
Immortal Soul, clearly stated that after death the soul travelled along the great Invisible
Road. Sisters, brothers, even mothers, did not recognise their own kin. There were no fine
tables laid out with feasts and wine. Everyone was to eat and drink mud.114 Hittite society
ostensibly believed in the ideology of possessions being a necessity in the afterlife. A woman
was burned with her spindle, and personal possessions were buried along with her
ashes.115All households were responsible for the service to their own ancestors.116

110
Collin, B. J. ‘Animals in the Hittite Literature’, in A History of the Animal World in the Ancient Near
East, Leiden, Boston & Koln, 2002, p. 242.
111
Güterbock, H. G., ‘An Outline of the Hittite AN.TAH.SUM Festival’, in Journal of Near Eastern
Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1960, p. 85.
112
Bryce, T. The Kingdom of the Hittites, New York, 1998, p. 96.
113
Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p. 73.
114
Hoffner, H., Hittite Myths, 1998, pp. 34-35.
115
Hoffner, H., ‘Hittite Religion’, 2005, p. 506.
116
Beckman, G., ‘The Religion of the Hittites’, in The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 52, No. 2/3, 1989, pp.
101-102.

21
Sacrificial lists show that both kings and queens had sacrifices dedicated to them after their
death.117Royal bones were buried in a tomb known as E.NA.118On the first day, the Queen
would be cremated. Wise women would then extinguish the flames the next day with beer,
wine, and a Hittite drink known as walhi. The Queen’s bones would be wrapped in a fine
garment and then laid upon a stool. After certain ritual observances were followed, they
would be interred.119

Wise women were viewed as an essential element to Hittite society. As practitioners in the
art of sympathetic magic rituals, they were required for their services in times of illness and
misfortune. Evidence also exists from Tablet CTH 379 which shows that they dealt with
exorcism.120 There are many records of their rituals which still exist, highlighting their
importance in every facet of Hittite society. Some of these were known as Tunnawiya’s
Ritual of Impurity, used when either a couple were having trouble conceiving, or when a
woman or man was suspected of homosexuality. There were rituals to be performed in
times of plague, and rituals to reverse curses, just to name a few.

It is not known how Wise Women were selected, whether they were born into the
profession, or selected for training at a young age.121They would have wielded enormous
power within Hittite society. One only has to consider the many secrets and personal details
they would have attained through their position on many members of the Hittite
population, including the royal household. A tablet discovered in the city of Hattusa also
suggests that the Wise Women had their own cult where they celebrated the Chief of the
Wise Woman. They were strongly associated with the Mother Goddess Hannahanna.122

117
Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p.77.
118
Bin-Nun, S., 1975, p.181.
119
Gurney, O. 1969,pp. 164-165.
120
Mouton, A. ‘Hittite Witchcraft’, in Acts of the VIIth International Congress of Hittitology Forum,
Vol. 2, 2008, p. 517.
121
Collins, B. J., ‘Women in Hittite Ritual’, in Women in the Ancient Near East: A Sourcebook, London
& New York, 2014, pp. 246-265.
122
Blasweiler, J., 2013, p. 42.

22
They almost certainly had a business network, as they would have had to have essentials on
hand to treat any sudden situations that would have arose. The paraphernalia needed to
perform their rituals included clay to make figurines, live animals for sacrifice, and other
necessities such as oils, herbs, and textiles. They would have also needed an archive area
where their ritual texts would have been easily accessible in times of emergency. They
would have been literate and bi-lingual, as evidenced by the number of texts discovered in
at least eight different languages.123There is no evidence that has so far been discovered
which asserts whether they were allowed to marry or not.

There is still so much information about Hittite women that, because of limitations, has
been left unsaid. However, hopefully the above discussion indicates just how interesting
these Hittite women were. More research and scholarly focus needs to be initiated
concerning the intricacies of their lives. Everyday women were obviously not Bronze Age
male possessions. These women had identities of their own. They had positions of societal
importance in the Hittite world. Hittite women had necessary roles in the duty of
procreation. Hittite Queens were strong, confident, and powerful women. Their influence
extended not only throughout the Land of Hatti, but well into the foreign states as well. The
decisions they made and the royal correspondence they engaged in prove their high esteem
and intelligence. Hittite Wise Women were venerated, and considered to be an essential
member of Hittite society and of cultural beliefs. When the lives of these women are
examined closely it shows not only how fascinating they are, but that they also deserve a
voice.

I would like to extend a special thank to Joost Blasweiler, student Universiteit van Leiden, for his help
to collect material for the writing of this paper.

123
Bryce, T., 2002, pp. 201-202.

23
APPENDIX

Figure 1.

http://www.hittitemonuments.com/fraktin/fraktin07.jpg, on 17.12.13.

24
Figure 2.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kqEyeU-
9nU/UWeOtVGtnAl/AAAAAAAAGns/GZxvFkoYxNg/51600/imellion+-+20130410+-+0075.jpg,
on 13.12.13.

25
Figure 3.

http://www.qaraqalpaq.com/images/kiym85.jpg, on 13.12.13.

26
Figure 4.

http://www.phase.com/dosseman/image/136367248, on 13.12.13.

27
Figure 5.

http://www.atamanhotel.com/whe/hattusa-temples.html, on 27.12.13.

28
Figure 6.

http://www.hittitemonuments.com/alacahoyuk/alaca15.jpg, on 13.12.13.

Figure 7.

http://u.jimdo.com/www43/o/seaf7c468f61db2b4/img/i21a8ab9515b8bfc5/1375822409/s
td/seal-of-great-queen-puduhepa-on-the-peace-treaty-between-egypt-and-hittites.gif, on
02.01.14.

29
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alexander, Robert L., ‘The Signe Royal at Fraktin’, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 36,
No. 3, 1977, pp. 199-207.
Beckman, Gary, Hittite Birth Rituals, 2nd edt., Weisbaden, Otto Harrassowitz, 1983.
Beckman, Gary, Hittite Diplomatic Texts, (ed.) Hoffner, Harry A. Jnr., Georgia, Scholars Press,
1996.
Beckman, Gary, ‘International Law in the Second Millennium: Late Bronze Age’, in A History
of Ancient Near Eastern Law, Vol. 1, (ed.) Westbrook, Raymond, Leiden & Boston, Brill,
2003, pp. 753-769.
Beckman, Gary, ‘The City and the Country in Hatti’, in Berlinen Beitrage von Vorderen Orient,
Vol. 18, 1999, pp. 161-169.
Beckman, Gary, ‘The Religion of the Hittites’, in The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 52, No. 2/3,
1989, pp. 98-108.
Bin-Nun, Shoshanna, The Tawananna in the Hittite Kingdom, Heidelberg, Carl Winter, 1975.
Bittel, Kurt, ‘The Great Temple of Hattusha-Boğazköy’, in American Journal of Archaeology,
Vol. 30, No. 1, 1976, pp. 66-73.
Blasweiler, Joost, The Royal Family of the Early Old Kingdom of Hattusa and Their
Tawananna’s: Cultural History of Central Anatolia 1700-1600BC, Arnhem, Arnhem Bronze
Age, 2013.
Bryce, Trevor, Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East: The Royal Correspondence
of the Late Bronze Age, London & New York, Routledge, 2003.
Bryce, Trevor, Life and Society in the Hittite World, Oxford & New York, Oxford University
Press, 2002.
Bryce, Trevor, The Kingdom of the Hittites, New York, Oxford University Press, 1998.
Cammarosano, Michele, ‘Tanuhepa: A Hittite Queen in Troubled Times’. Accessed at
http://www.academia.edu/496653/Tanu_epa_a_Hittite_Queen_in_Troubled_Times, pp.
47-64.
Canby, Jeanny Vorys, ‘Hittite Art’, in The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 52, No. 2/3, 1989, pp.
109-129.
Ceram, C. W., The Secret of the Hittites: The Discovery of an Ancient Empire, (trans.) Knopf,
Alfred A. Inc., 2nd edt., London, Phoenix Press, 2001.

30
Collins, Billie Jean, ‘Animals in Hittite Literature’, in A History of the Animal World in the
Ancient Near East, (ed.) Collins, Billie Jean, Leiden, Boston & Koln, Brill, 2002, pp. 237-250.
Collins, Billie Jean, The Hittites and Their World, accessed at
http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_KOmaQgkkUn&sig=aVpwJyxcQsiWrchM
7C_12talfik&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Billie%20Jean%20Collins%22
Collins, Billie Jean, ‘Women in Hittite Ritual’, in Women of the Ancient Near East: A
Sourcebook, (ed.) Chavalas, Mark W., London & New York, Routledge, 2014, pp. 246-271.
Ergin, Gurkan, ‘Anatolian Women in Linear B Texts: A General Review of the Evidence’, in
Vita: Festschrift in Honour of Belkis Dincol & Ali Dincol, (eds.) Alparson, Metin, Meltem
Dogan-Alparson, & Hasan Peker, Istanbul, Yayinlari, 2007, pp. 269-283.
Gilan, Amir, ‘Hittite Ethnicity? Constructions of Identity in Hittite Literature’, in Anatolian
Interfaces: Hittites, Greeks, & Their Neighbours, (eds.) Collins, Billie Jean, Mary R.
Bachvarova, & Ian Rutherford, Atlanta, Oxbow, 2008, pp. 107-115.
Gilan, Amir, ‘Hittite Religious Rituals and the Ideology of Kingship’, in Religion Compass, Vol.
5/7, 2001, pp. 276-285.
Gurney, O., The Hittites, 7th edt., Victoria, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., 1969.
Güterbock, Hans Gustav, ‘An Outline of the Hittite AN.TAH.SUM Festival’, in Journal of
Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1960, pp. 80-89.
Güterbock, Hans Gustav, ‘Observations on the Tarsus Seal of Puduhepa, Queen of Hatti’, in
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 117, No. 1, 1997, pp. 143-144.
Güterbock, Hans Gustav, Hoffner, Harry A., Jnr, & Van den Hout, Theo (eds.), The Hittite
Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, accessed at
http://hum.uchicago.edu/orgs/xstar/eCHD/
Güterbock, Hans Gustav, ‘The Hittite Palace’, in 19th Recontre Assyriologique Internationale
Paris, 1971, pp. 305-314.
Güterbock, Hans Gustav, ‘Towards a Definition of the Term Hittite’, in Oriens, Vol. 10, No. 2,
1957, pp. 233-239.
Hasse, Richard, ‘The Hittite Kingdom’, in A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law, Vol. 1, (ed.)
Westbrook, Raymond, Leiden & Boston, Brill, 2003, pp. 619-656.
Hoffner, Harry A. Jr., ‘A Prayer of Mursili II about his Stepmother’, in Journal of the American
Oriental Society, Vol. 103, No. 1, 1983, pp. 187-192.
Hoffner, Harry A. Jr., ‘Daily Life Among the Hittites’, in Life and Culture in the Ancient Near
East, (eds.) Averbeck, Richard, Mark W. Chavalas, & David B. Weisberg, Bethseda, CDL Press,
2003, pp. 95-118.
Hoffner, Harry A., Jr., Hittite Myths, 2nd edt., (ed.) Beckman, Gary, Atlanta, Scholars Press,
1998.

31
Hoffner, Harry A. Jr., ‘Hittite Religion’ in The Gale Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 6, (ed.)
Jones, Lindsay, 2nd edt., New York & London, Thomson Gale, 2005, pp. 502-507.
Hoffner, Harry A. Jr., ‘Histories and Historians of the Ancient Near East:\b the Hittites’, in
Orientalia, Vol. 49m, No. 4, 1980, pp. 283-331.
Hoffner, Harry A. Jr., ‘The Institutional Poverty of the Hurrian Diviners and Entanni Women’,
in Pax Hethitica: Studies on the Hittites and their Neighbours in Honour of Itamar Singer,
(eds.) Ceram, Yoram, Amir Gilan, & Jared L. Miller, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz Verlag, 2010,
pp. 214-225.
Houwink ten Cate, H. J., ‘Hittite Royal Prayers’, in Numen, Vol. 16, Fasc. 2, 1969, pp. 81-98.
Hutter, Manfred, ‘Religion in Hittite Anatolia. Some Comments on “Volkert Haas: Geschichte
der Hethitischen Religion”’, in Numen, Vol. 44, Fasc. 1, 1977, pp. 74-90.
Lehmann, Johannes, The Hittites: People of a Thousand Gods, (trans.) Brownjohn, Maxwell
J., London, Collins, 1977.
London, Jack, ‘Hittite Birth Rituals’, in Images of Women in Antiquity, (eds.) Cameron, Averil,
& Amelie Kuhrt, Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 1983, pp. 128-141.
Macqueen, J. G., The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor, 2nd edt., London,
Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1986.
Mineck, Kathleen, Hoffner, Harry A. Jnr., & van den Hout, Theo, ‘Hittite Historical Texts II’, in
The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation, (ed.) Chavalas, Mark W., Victoria,
Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2006, pp. 253-279.
Mouton, Alice, ‘Hittite Witchcraft’, in Acts of the VIIth International Congress of Hittitology
Forum, Vol. 2, 2008, pp. 515-528.
Roth, Martin T., Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, 2nd edt., (trans.)
Hoffner, Harry A. Jnr., (ed.) Michalowski, Piotr, Atlanta, Scholars Press, 1997.
Selz, Gebhard J., ‘The Divine Prototypes’, in Religion and Power: Divine Kingship in the
Ancient World and Beyond, (ed.) Brisch, Nicole, Chicago & Illinois, Oriental Institute
Seminars, 2007, pp. 13-31.
Singer, Itamar, Hittite Prayers, (ed.) Hoffner, Harry A. Jnr., Georgia, Society of Biblical
Literature, 2002.
Sturtevant, E. H., & Bechtel, G., A Hittite Chrestomathy, Philadelphia, Linguistic Society of
America, 1935.
Taggar-Cohen, Ada, ‘The NIN.DINGAR in the Hittite Kingdom’, in Altoriental Forscungen, Vol.
33, 2006, pp. 313-327
Tsevat, Matitiahu, ‘The Husband Veils A Wife (Hittite Laws, Sections 197-198)’, in Journal of
Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 27, No. 4, 1975, pp. 235-240.

32
Wilhelm, Gernot, ‘Demographic Data from Hittite Land Tablets’, University of Wurzburg,
2009, pp. 233-233.

33